Taxpayer funds five-star away day

Senior staff at a London school stayed up drinking brandy and lager until 3am on a taxpayer-funded "away day" at a five-star City hotel.

Nine managers from Crest Boys Academy in Neasden spent more than £4,000 of public money on food and rooms during a team-building exercise last October.

The details come as teachers stage industrial action at the school over cost-cutting redundancies. The academy is sponsored by E-Act, the education charity. The team-building exercise was at the Threadneedles hotel. The hotel bill shows drinks including a £7.50 brandy and three lagers were charged to head teacher Keith Miller's room at 3.26am.

The total bill for the stay was £4,406, all covered by a government grant, apart from £341 spent on alcohol.

A spokesman for the academy said: "This event was paid for from a national grant fund, and not the academy's day-to-day budget.

"It was an opportunity for the new principal to meet with his senior team off site and discuss education plans. At the time no discussion had taken place about the long-term position of the academy."